CS7001: Instructions to Students regarding Mini-projects

Projects & Time Committments

It is suggested that 60 hours of research work is equivalent to one credit hour for the semester.  This is a five credit course. Thus, it is expected that you will spend about 300 hours for the course for the semester (5 x 60 = 300 hours/semester).

Lectures are three hours/week for 15 weeks -> 45 hours of direct class interaction.   Some people say that each lecture hour is equal to three hours of research (out of class) hours [I guess that depends on the teacher and the course material]

I'd say that projects should be about 120-135 hours of your time for the whole semester.  This is of course approximate because:

  1.  This is research
  2.  As far as I know there are no clocks in CoC to punch in when you start something and punchout when you leave.
  3.  Results matter!

One another way of looking at it is as if you are doing a 3-unit 8903 or 3 1-unit 8903s.

Project Schedule

The schedule for the projects is as follows:
Date
Milestone
September 3, 2002 Identify Project #1
September 24, 2002 Project #1 Due
October 1, 2002 Identify Project #2
October 22, 2002 Project #2 Due
October 29, 2002 Identify Project #3
November 26, 2002 Project #3 Due

Choosing Projects

  • Select a project from the list of descriptions OR ask a professor in the college to design one for you OR design one for yourself and propose it to a professor.
  • Contact the sponsor and set up a meeting to discuss the project.
    • Explain your interest in doing the project
    • Ask what would be required to do this project.
    • Ask what would be a deliverable (ie, a report, etc.)
    • Set up a schedule with sponsor, as to when you want to end the project and when/if you'd like to meet again to discuss the project.
    • Choosing a project, WITHOUT approval of the sponsor is not ALLOWED.
  • Put a link on your CS7001 page stating your project and the modifications that you have discussed with the "sponsor".  If anything specially different send an email to the TAs...

    THIS HAS TO BE DONE BY DEADLINES previously ESTABLISHED.

Ending Projects

  • The projects have to END on the day they are due.
  • If you promised the sponsor a report, please put the report on the WWW (write it in a web-publishable form and publish it on your CS7001 page). Send a pointer to your report AND drop off a hard-copy to the sponsor.
    • The length and details of the report depends on what you and the sponsor have agreed to.
    • You need to send a pointer to your report to the TA...
  • Tell the sponsor to email the grade to the TA...